But We Know the Truth
by Jiggy-Beast
Summary: Ages are approxamately: mako, 15 and Bolin, 11 ? . The brothers are offered a spot at the arena by Toza after he sees Mako fighting in the street. As a good older brother, Mako decides to check it out before letting Bolin compete. A little drama too!


"Did ya hear that Mako?" Bolin exclaimed as they left the grand stadium walking taller than they had in a long time, after Mako's first triumphant win as a 'pro-bender'.

"Did I hear what?" Mako muttered trying to sound nonplussed about the win and the jolly yuans jingling in his pocket.

"What they called you." the younger brother said dreamily. "Mako, cool under fire!" His eyes seemed to fill with the late night stars as he looked up into the endless sky over the bay. "You were great! Those guys didn't stand a chance with you in the ring!"

Mako hated how his brother went on about this pro-bending stuff. They called it a 'sport', but anybody in the ring knew it was nothing more than a street fight with crooked referees and hundreds of screaming fans. This Butakha guy just took fighting, put restrictions on where you can step, added a little water, put them on a stage, and charged admission. It was just a big scam; he gets people to pay to see what they ignore everyday on the streets.

"Oh, man you should've seen the look on that water bender's face when you hit him with that combo!" Bolin jumped animatedly where his brother was trying to walk and set his feet wide in a clumsy imitation of a firebender's stance. "You were all like, BOOM! BAM! WHAMM!"

Mako stopped and glared at Bolin's fists flying through the air in a mock assault, as Bolin proceeded to reenact the third round of the match.

"And then that guy was like, WHAAAAaaaa….SPLASH! AND THEN THE REFEREE SAID-"

"BOLIN!"

The night grew suddenly quiet once more as Bolin dropped his fists lamely to his sides. He pouted as he muttered an insincere apology. "Sorry Mako. I-"

"Remember when we use to go down by the piers?"

Bolin's usually cheerful face turned sour at the thought.

He said nothing.

"And I told you to cover your eyes?"

"yeah…."

"Do you remember Bolin?" he asked as if expecting a better response.

"Yes!" Tears welled up and threatened to spill over as Bolin stood stubbornly avoiding his brother's gaze.

"Do you remember what I said?"

"but mako…"

"I said that fighting is wrong Bo, I said it's bad." Mako's voice remained steady but the force of his glare portrayed the angry passion with which he spoke. "I told you to never lift your fists. I told you to look away because I didn't want my baby brother to see me in a street fight with some guy twice my age!"

Bolin's lip quivered at the memory of his brother's face that night. I was cut and bloody and there wasn't an inch on his body that wasn't bruised.

"I told you that people shouldn't have to fight to survive." Mako finished in such a chilling voice that Bolin would have preferred him to yell.

"It was a loaf of bread…" he whispered, wishing the hot tears on his cheeks to just disappear. "You said that people shouldn't have to fight for a loaf of bread."

The night air was beginning to chill and the brothers were still a long walk from their temporary quarters. Mako put his hand on his brother's back and lead the way.

"Well for you and me pal, it's the same thing."

Mako gave his baby brother what little comfort he could on the way back to their 'camp'.

"You know, I could hear you cheering all the way in the ring."

Still wiping his watery eyes, Bolin frowned, "No you couldn't."

"Could too! I could hear you shouting 'Mako! Mako! You can do it! Win that money so you can buy me a girlfriend!'"

That rare smile lit his face as Bolin made a gagging sound into an imaginary bucket. "I did not say that!"

"Did too! I could hear all the girls in the stands laughing at you"

"That's a lie!"

"I cross my heart Bo! One of 'em even thought you were cute!"

Though at the time Bolin was fuming, the teasing and laughing became one of his fondest memories of his brother. To the outside world Mako was so distant and cold, but sometimes when their pockets and bellies were full, he could afford to let go of his suspicions for the night and just be a kid.

"Hey Bo?"

"Yeah?"

"It might not look like one, with all the fans and the fancy announcers and all the glamor, but it's still just a fight."

"I know that Mako. They just made it seem okay."

"But we know the truth, right?"

Bolin just wrapped his arm around Mako's waist and was thankful to have a brother as great as this one. (Even if he did fight sometimes.)


End file.
